An electric induction melting assembly can be used in a vacuum to produce high purity alloy metals. The electric induction melting assembly can comprise an induction melting furnace (sometimes referred to as a refractory crucible) that is seated in a tilting cradle located within an industrial vacuum chamber. The furnace can be tilted in the cradle about a trunnion that is rotatably supported on a bearing so that molten metal product can be poured from the furnace into a mold or other containment vessel.
The induction melting furnace requires removal from the vacuum chamber for replacement or repair of the furnace, or to exchange one furnace with another. Removal of the induction melting furnace in some conventional vacuum induction melting assemblies can be time consuming since a hot operating furnace must remain in the chamber with cooling water flowing through the induction coil for an extended period of time to cool the furnace before electric power and cooling water source connections are manually disconnected from the furnace. This conventional procedure for repair or exchange of the furnace results in a significant loss of productivity caused by the required cooling time along with the period of time normally required for manually disconnecting and reconnecting a furnace. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,004 (to Roberts et al.) is an example of a method of achieving a rapid exchange of power and cooling connections.
One object of the present invention is to achieve the connection of electric power to a vacuum induction melting furnace within a pressurized interior space of the furnace assembly's tilting cradle, or other mating assembly component within the vacuum chamber so that the connection or disconnection of electric power can be achieved without substantial cool down of a hot in-service induction melting assembly.